Arcane: Winds of Change

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Chapter 7: Meeting Again 

In a certain underground arcade in Zaun, Vi was bobbing and weaving in front of a punching bag, her fists continuously colliding with it while sweat trickled down her forehead. She managed to set a new high score for the arcade with an impressive performance. 

"Mylo, why are we hiding out here?" Mylo asked impatiently. 

"Vander wants us to lay low. The enforcers from Piltover won't find this place," Vi replied helplessly. 

Mylo rolled his eyes as Claggor teased him, "Are you worried that Powder will outscore you again?" 

"If she didn't keep tinkering with that contraption endlessly, I'd hit every target," Mylo retorted. 

Powder picked up the power switch, a rare confident smile on her face. She plugged it in, and the shooting targets lit up and began moving around. "I only brought you guys along because I thought this would work," she said.

"That was our biggest heist yet. Next time, can we not bring Powder?" Mylo said, feeling a bit exasperated, his gun firing continuously but hitting very few targets. 

"Hey, I scared him off, okay? It's not my fault the package fell in the river," Powder defended herself. She then snatched the gun from Mylo's hand and each shot hit its mark perfectly. 

Powder made a face at Mylo and then walked off, feeling a bit down. 

"Let me go, let me go," the cries of a woman could be heard from outside. 

"Tell us where those kids are hiding," an enforcer wearing a mask demanded. 

"What does the mess in Piltover have to do with us?" Another scrawny man retorted disdainfully. 

"If something goes wrong topside, you gutter rats will also be held accountable. Hand them over!" the enforcer said arrogantly. 

"Hah!" The man's pride was pricked by the enforcer's attitude. He spat on the enforcer's shoe. 

With a single kick, the man was sent flying, crashing through the arcade's glass, exposing Vi and her group to the enforcers' view. 

The group stared at each other, momentarily stunned. "Search them," the enforcer ordered coldly. 

"Go ahead, idiots, we have nothing," Mylo said smugly, unaware that there were Hextech crystals in Powder's pocket. 

Vi exchanged a glance with Claggor, who immediately turned off the lights. A blue smiley face appeared on the floor, and they hurled the punching bag into the face of one of the enforcers. 

With Ekko's help, they eventually escaped back to the tavern. 

The tavern was in chaos; Phil had just left, and everyone was indignant. 

"Piltover people are walking all over us, even this lousy arms dealer dares to provoke you, Vander. Why don't we just fight?" 

"Do you really think we can win?" 

"Yes, I do!" someone shouted. 

"With what? You remember what happened last time we crossed the bridge, right?" 

"The Vander I know, the one who built this underground, would never back down and just wait for things to happen," a strong Black woman said. 

"You think I'm backing down?" Vander stepped up to her. 

"No, I think you've gotten old," the woman whistled disappointedly and left the tavern, followed by others. They were heading towards Silco's factory. 

"Even the four of us could make such a mess for the enforcers," Powder said defiantly. 

"Listen, even Powder can't take it anymore," Mylo taunted her once more. 

"Then why don't we fight?" the young and spirited Vi could not understand Vander's reasoning. 

The enforcers soon searched the tavern, but the kids hid well and were not discovered, or almost weren't. Constantly hiding is not a solution, but Vander had no other option for now.

"How did it go?" Silco looked at Phil. Phil shrugged, "Failure. He's just like a stone from a cesspool—stinky and stubborn." Silco reassured him, "It doesn't matter, our experiment was a success. Tomorrow, I'll take the results of our experiment and show him our strength."

At Benzo's shop, Vi pressed the communicator that the officer left for Vander. She had decided that since Vander had no solution, this was the only way to protect everyone. "Vander?! How did you find your way here?" she asked. Vander didn't answer her and instead caressed her face, "You're my pride, always have been." Benzo knew what Vander was about to do, and he couldn't help but call his name, wanting to stop him yet unsure of how to do so. Vander spoke to Vi, "You're a kind child, always have been. No matter how this world tortures you, don't lose your conscience. Protect our family." His words sounded like a farewell. "Why are you saying…" Vi didn't finish before Vander gave her a push, then locked her in the basement. Vi knew what Vander intended now. She pounded on the door madly, "You can't do this! Let me out. Benzo, open the door!" At that moment, the enforcers also entered. Even though chaos might erupt in the undercity if Vander was lost, they couldn't defy his insistence. The enforcers, having no choice, placed handcuffs on Vander.

"Hey, are you sure Vander's at that, what's it called, Benzo's shop and not the Last Drop?" Phil asked somewhat uncertainly. "I'm sure. I have informants among the enforcers," Silco confirmed. "That's great! We've always lacked intelligence from topside, so this helps fill our intel gap." Phil noted, "Previously, our focus was on your weapons and the serum; we didn't have that much effort to spare." "I'm glad my weapons can match up to your treasured serum," Phil quipped as he walked toward Benzo's shop, followed by the recruit who had taken the serum.

As they reached the shop entrance, they saw the enforcer escorting Vander out. "Seems like your experiment is ready for a test," Phil nodded towards the enforcer's direction. Silco agreed with Phil and commanded the experiment subject beside him, "Go ahead, kill her. Only by escalating tensions between Piltover and Zaun can Vander never run away again." Having taken the serum, the now-empowered recruit, unable to control his body, charged forward the moment he heard Silco's command. In an instant, blood spattered everywhere. The enforcer proved the power of the serum with her life.

"Hey, Vander, I told you we'd meet again, didn't I?" Phil called out to Vander from a distance, grinning.